It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of Hot Shops resident artist, Joyce N. Wilson, who passed away on April 14, 2023 at the age of 80.
Joyce was an art instructor at Bellevue University for 43 years, and was a resident artist at the Hot Shops for 20 years.
To honor Joyce, her work will be on display in the Hallway Gallery for the Spring Open House and remain up for two weeks.
Les Bruning taught with Joyce at Bellevue for 35 years and shared this message:
In Memory of Joyce Wilson
“I met Joyce as I interviewed for a Professor of Art position at Bellevue University in 1973. She had already been teaching there for three or four years. She had a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Omaha University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, specializing in printmaking and painting. She was very skilled at both and was always enthused to be in the classroom.
I was hired and Joyce and I spent the next dozen years in the same small office and shared the same teaching facilities. It was not always easy, but over the years, we built an impressive art department. Many of our students are still working in the art field today.
It is remarkable that we shared such a commitment to learning and teaching. That commitment made us, and the adjunct instructors we worked with, a productive and fun group of artists. Joyce also completed a PhD in Art History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during this time. She retired about three years before I did and chose to become part of the Hot Shops art family.
Many of our ideas regarding learning and teaching at Bellevue, have been applied to the diverse, creative community here at the Hot Shops.
Joyce will be missed, and she will always be in our fondest memories.”
-Leslie Bruning
Joyce touched so many of our lives, she will be deeply missed.